South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and First Vice President, Riek Machar will hold talks in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum to break the deadlock over unification of the command structure, an official said.
South Sudan’s advisor on security affairs, Tut Gatluak Manime said the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo accepted to mediate talks between the two South Sudanese rival leaders.
He said a follow-up mediation process would be conducted in Juba with all parties to the 2018 peace agreement to discuss the unification of forces.
Gatluak, also chairperson of the National Transitional Committee (NTC) said he met Sudan’s leaders on Monday and delivered President Kiir’s response to Khartoum’s proposal to mediate in the unification of forces issue.
He said the Juba government already responded to the proposal which has been handed over to Sudan, a guarantor of the peace agreement.
“Our mission was successful. We met and held meetings with the leadership in Khartoum. The vice-chairman of the Sovereign Council, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo took it seriously and made a phone call to H.E the President of the Republic of South Sudan, General Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday. They discussed very important issues relating to peace and security in South Sudan and in Sudan,” explained Gatluak.
He added, “We hope this will be an opportunity to resolve all the issues. And God willing, everything will be addressed so that a new chapter is opened”.
Meanwhile the senior presidential advisor said President Kiir assured the deputy chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council of his commitment to overcome challenges facing the implementation of the peace accord.
Last week, the South Sudanese leader issued a presidential decree directing the formation of the command structure with immediate effect.
Kiir also relinquished three positions of command in the military and two in the police service to the SPLM/A-IO and South Sudan Opposition Alliance.
Machar, however, rejected Kiir’s decision, describing it as “unilateral” and lacking the consensus required of the parties that signed the peace deal.
The armed opposition leader further said Kiir’s directive undermines the ongoing mediation efforts by Sudan and Uganda, which are guarantors of the 2018 revitalized agreement signed in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
The president’s order and Machar’s rejection rose tensions and the deployment of troops around the residency of the vice president, causing fear and panic that the situation could escalate if it is not well managed.
Kiir, however, said the military deployment was to provide protection to senior government officials, including his first deputy in the coalition government.
